One mad panda and a couple of ducks
by GoxDinosaur
Summary: There they are again, those icy blue eyes that always seem to be staring me down these days. I threw the familiar shaggy-haired boy a half-hearted wave. He said nothing, he did nothing, it appeared as if he was looking right through me...
1. Hello, GKM and TAB

**Gabriella Kae Montez: Part one of my so-called-life**

There they are again, those icy blue eyes that always seem to be staring me down these days. I threw the familiar shaggy-haired boy a half-hearted wave. He said nothing, he did nothing, and as a matter of fact it appeared as if he was looking right through me, like I was just some apparition hovering in front of him. This was ridiculous, that's the only word I could use to describe it. Oh wait, I could also say; disastrous, horrible, heart-wrenching, disgusting torture…the list goes on and on and on, really. Troy Bolton turned his back to me, as if I was never there to begin with. I could have screamed, or called him an ass-hole, or flipped him off, or any other form of insult, but I couldn't bring myself to hate him. Really, it was no fault but mine, so everyone was right to blame me. You're probably very confused right now. I'm sorry, let's start from the beginning…

_East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico was just another random school in just another random town for me. I don't mean to over-exaggerate, I'm not exactly an army brat or anything, but I've definitely had my share of awkward moves. I had learned how to play my strengths and my weaknesses by now. I knew who exactly to look for, what clubs to join, who to avoid eye-contact with, what teachers needed a good wooing…I had it all packed tightly into the fibers of my experienced brain. I squared my dainty shoulders, and brushed the tiny pieces of invisible lint from my teal blue Stella McCartney dress, the sleeves of my black over-coat pulling up slightly. I looked exactly like I imagined I should. My black flats accented the dress in just the right fashion, so I didn't look too…suggestive, or over-dressed. Swinging my book bag to my right shoulder, I exited the office from which I'd came, schedule in hand. Glancing at the piece of paper, I read 'school guide: Troy Bolton' aloud._

"_That would be me," a boy stated behind me, so abruptly that I actually, physically jumped. Flushing ever-so-slightly, I turned to face the boy, preparing to extend my hand. But I couldn't shake his hand, hell, I could hardly breathe. He had these eyes…these blue eyes that, I swear to god, could have cured cancer or something. Finally, my lungs were screaming for air, and I heaved in, my throat closing up, so it was a rather loud, chunky breath. Thousands of eyes stared at me, pausing their conversations or current actions just to shoot me a shifty look. I must have turned positively crimson, but instead of scared, Troy seemed perplexed, entertained, and almost the slightest bit…interested._

"_Um…I…err…" I muttered, trying to form a coherent sentence._

_He smirked, apparently this type of bafflement wasn't new to him, but how could it be? He was beautiful!_

"_Troy Bolton at your service, madam." He said, bowing for affect. Troy seemed calm and unsurprised by all the eyes still watching our small screen play. _

_I swallowed with a little too much effort and muttered, "Montez, Gabriella."_

"_Well, it's very nice to meet you, Montez." He said, standing to his full height. He must have been six freaking feet tall! I stood at a proud five feet and four inches. Good first impression, Montez! Now the whole school is going to think you're a complete freak. _

_He began to stride, too elegantly, too inhumanly forward. I followed at his heels as he pointed out each classroom, each teacher, each student, each club, and each poster. It was insanity! He seemed to know everything that anyone would ever need to know about East High. If you're ever solving an East High-related mystery, hit up Troy Bolton. I noticed on one of the rounds that there were several posters of Troy in a basketball jersey, surrounded by other attractive boys, in matching jerseys. He stood at the center, the largest, and the most prominent. It was interesting because he seemed younger than all of the boys in the background, and yet he also seemed to have the most responsibility, he held the highest rank._

_After circling the school two or three times, we stopped at exactly the spot where we had started our tour. I was more myself, less nervous without all of the staring eyes. I was about to thank him when a pretty blonde girl with striking features, wearing the shortest of all miniskirts, pink cowboy boots, a matching pink tank top which was the exact shade of the boots, not to mention the finishing touch of a silver shrug which hung loosely to her picturesque body, danced by. It seemed a little more than cliché to me, but Troy seemed to like it. He stared past me watching her as she walked by with careful concentration. The girl smiled at me warmly, and twinkled a delicate 'Hey, Troy' to my guide, while texting furiously on a crystallized sidekick III. _

"_Hi Sharpay," He said, grinning foolishly._

_And then I knew. He liked her. Of course he liked her! And it's not like I should have expected him to like me. I'd just met him for Christ's sake! Besides, I was no tall blonde, and I certainly didn't have her type of cash. I was just Gabriella Montez, and that's all I would ever be._

**Troy Anthony Bolton: Part two of my so-called-life**

I can't stand this. Why does she have to sit there in her stupid tanned perfection? She's taunting me, I'm sure of it. It's like a constant chore, trying to stay mad at her. She's wearing a very, very familiar pair of boxers that I only know as my own. I had come out to get the paper, and I ended up staring at was once my everything. She looked so hurt, so sad, I wanted to run to her, to hold her, but I resisted. Instead I picked up the wet news paper, and turned my back to her, back into the house. How long could I keep this up? From the minute I met Gabriella Montez, I knew she was irregular and every shade of fantastic. I remember that day very, very well. It went like this;

_Just another school day at East High, just another basketball practice, just another load of pressure heaped onto my shoulders. I was team captain of East High's infamous basketball team, and probably the most legendary junior at the school. I had been called into the office, half expecting it to be my father (the coach of that infamous team I mentioned before) complaining about someone else's actions. Like I said; pressure. But instead they told me that I was to show around a 'Gabriella Montez'. New student, junior just like myself. I thought I'd show the girl the main points and then dash to math class before I got any worse at the subject. Then I saw her. She looked dazed and confused, but prepared all the same, like she'd be over this one hundred and one times. Her beauty was astounding. She was tan, most likely Asian, and she had raven-black hair which was cascading down her back in careful curls._

"_Troy Bolton," she'd said, glancing to her left and right as if I would have appeared out of no where._

"_That would be me," I said. She jumped. I laughed quietly to myself as we exchanged names and casualties. Simply showing her around the old building gave me too much pleasure; I was enjoying this far too much. I was Troy Bolton, I didn't associate with froshies…I guess this was the start of something great._


	2. We were made for each other

**Gabriella Kae Montez; space cadet made for loving**

I know what you're thinking. 'I'd rather hit that, too.' Or 'Um, okay, you emo...' Truth be told, I was kind of down on myself. But I'm not, like, anorexic or anything, I don't think I ever could be with the way my mother cooks. All I could really do as Troy Bolton turned his back on me was cry. I didn't break out into sobs; no I already used all of those on the first week of my monstrosity, these were just tiny drops, which strolled down each cheek silently. I didn't have to worry about smudging make-up, or looking like a raccoon, because I'd given up on make-up a few weeks back. Do you see what he does to me? I'm completely untouchable! If anyone decently cute tries to talk to me, Troy's sensors go off, and he tells them off. It's like he's just trying to suck all the happiness from my life. Oh my god, what am I saying? How completely strange do I sound right now. I'm really not like this, you know. I sighed, closing my eyes as I sat on the cold concrete of my drive way, thinking way back to when things were okay.

_Thousands of jealousy-tainted eyes stared at me as I passed by them, smirking in a pleased way. That's not the only reason I'd liked him so much, he seemed to make every day the best day of my life, as cliché as THAT sounds. But really, I felt like I was walking down the hall way unworthy to his perfection. He was like some god, not only in everyone else's eyes, but in my own. I clutched his hand tighter, pulling him towards me so there wasn't an inch between us. He released my hand, which made my heart skip a beat nervously, but he only threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. My heartbeat relaxed into a steady beat, and I threw my arms around his torso. Even after two months, I still wasn't accustomed to his rock-hard abs. Some one behind me scoffed, but it didn't faze me. We walked casually into the cafeteria, but when we reached our destination, we didn't sit. He didn't want to let go either, by now I was way past ecstatic. _

"_Hey, lovebirds," My best friend, Taylor, rolled her eyes at us. I raised my eyebrows at her, in an almost challenging way, threatening to tell the world about her and Chad's little fling. Chad was Troy's best friend, so of course he knew, and you may have guessed that Chad knew...now I'm just being dunce-y. Taylor just chuckled a little. She knew, like everyone else who knew me too well knew, that I would never tell a secret that wasn't rightfully mine to tell. Troy squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. I smiled up at him timidly, not fully believing that he was mine._

"_Awe," Kelsi, East High's own musical genius, cooed at our PDA, but Troy didn't hear it; he just placed a soft, caring kiss on my lips._

**Troy Anthony Bolton; when she says she loves me.**

I took a backwards glance in Gabriella's direction. She was sitting peacefully in her driveway, her eyes distant. That was it. I couldn't do it anymore. I threw the paper through my open door, and closed the door behind me. I crept quietly to Gabriella's side, and sighed. She ignored me. _Sweet_, I thought, _really, I love that she's going to make me beg._ I opened my mouth to speak, but then I remembered way back to when I tried to reason with Gabriella.

"_Oh my god, Troy, you're being so over-dramatic!" Gabriella screamed, throwing her things into her black duffle bag messily, angrily. _

"_I think I'm being pretty reasonable, actually." I replied calmly. I couldn't scream at Gabriella, or else she'd cry and I knew it._

"_I'm still going, and you can't stop me." Gabriella glowered at me, shoving more clothing into her bag._

"_Gabriella, stop!" I cried, grabbing her wrists. She stared up at me in awe, like a small dog that had been kicked one-too-many times._

"_Gabbi, I..." I started, releasing my hands from her wrists, throwing them up to show her that I wasn't going to harm her, that I could never harm her. But she didn't let me finish._

"_Get out, Troy!" She screamed, "Just get the hell out of here!" She pushed me as forcefully as she knew how, smacking, punching, and kicking me the whole time._

"_Gabriella, please." I pleaded, but she just slammed her bedroom door in my face. _

"Fuck," _I said, leaping down the stairs and out the door._


	3. Hey, baby, I like how you move

**Gabriella Kae Montez: the biggest of the bitches come in the smallest packages**

When I refocused, I felt something, someone's eyes on me, someone's body heat radiating just next to me, but I refused to believe that it was the one person I really, really wanted it to be. I glanced sideways, and found none other than Troy Bolton sitting at my side. I wish I could have formed a coherent sentence, I wish I could have spoke, or breathed, or made a sound, but I couldn't do a thing, so I just stared. And he stared back, his crazy, amazing, piercing blue eyes shook me, I was tingly all over, If I had be standing, I'm sure I would have fallen by now, I had the tendency to buckle my knees when I'm nervous.

"Hi," He whispered softly, reaching up skeptically to touch my face. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him, his soft, familiar lips felt mind-blowing on mine. He didn't jerk back like I thought he would, and for a second I had a shred of hope that he missed me as much as I missed him. He pulled away for air, keeping his face only inches from mine. I couldn't help but break into a grin, he seemed so completely aware of every electro shock that was coursing through my veins. He smiled back, sheepishly, and brought his lips back to mine.

"Troy, wait..." I muttered, pulling back from the kiss, although everything in me was yearning to lean forward. _What am I doing? There's a beautiful boy, sitting in front of me, forgiving me, and I'm pulling away? I don't think so,_ I thought,_ No, Gabriella, no! If you don't say it now, you'll never say it. _So I chose common sense over my lust, over my love, and cleared my throat to tell Troy what I felt that I needed to tell him, what I felt I owed him. He looked bewildered, and as if he was fighting my request. He would lean forward slowly, and then rock back a little. Then again, and then again, like a never-ending cycle. I saw, in his baby blue eyes, fear, hurt, longing, and confusion.

"Troy," I started off, not entirely knowing what I was about to say.

"Gabriella," he mimicked my tone perfectly, raising his eye brows, and I couldn't help but release a small giggle.

"But being serious," I said, "Listen, I never meant to hurt you, and I never meant to do what I did, I just didn't..." He pulled me forward, into the safety and reassurance of his arms. And then, I began to sob. I don't know why, or how, but I just sobbed, and he held me. He wasn't scared, or confused, or maybe he was and he just wasn't showing it. He had me cradled between his shoulder blade and his neck; his arms were caressing my back slowly. I couldn't help but inhale.

"Hey, Gabi," He said. I pulled my gaze onto his beautiful face, and he smiled. "Gabriella, I'm so sorry. I really had no right to get quite so angry, everyone makes mistakes. I've made more than a few."

"Like Sharpay?" I growled. I felt him shake with quiet laughter under me.

"Yeah, like Sharpay."

"I hate Sharpay Evaaaaans." I sang, my voice hitting every note possible.

_I'd heard rumors that Troy and Sharpay were sleeping around while on study dates, but that's all I believed them to be; rumors. When I'd confronted Troy about it, he had denied it, and gotten a little angry that I even questioned his loyalty. And I believed him...or I really wanted to, with every fiber of my being. But there was a certain gleam in her eyes when she walked by him in the halls, there was a certain tone he took with her when I was around, and it killed me when she would walk by, swaying her hips like she knew that every guy in this building wanted her in the sheets. Which was most likely true, but that didn't mean she had to walk around flaunting it. So that's when I decided, I was going to figure out the truth. I caught Sharpay by the arm, while she was doing one of her signature struts. _

"_Excuse you," She spat, ripping her arm from my grasp. I winced; I was trying to be reasonable with Sharpay, but god! Did she really have to be so stuck up?_

"_Hi, Sharpay," I said, as sweetly as I knew how, "I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions..."_

_A very obvious smirked replaced her former look of disgust, and I did the best I could to avoid rolling my eyes, "Go ahead, sweetie." She said, patting my arm in the fakest way possible._

"_Look, I just want to know, straight out, are you, or are you not sleeping with my boyfriend?" I raised my eyebrows at her, challenging her to say something snide. She snorted. I couldn't believe that she actually just snorted._

"_Hun, what me and Troy do in the privacy of my bedroom, is really none of your business."_

"_I don't think it's actually possible for it any _more_ of my business!"_

"_Whatever."_

_And then I did it, I pushed her. I was the last person anyone expected to resort to physical violence. I was going to help her up and apologize, but she disappeared from sight. Then my head shook, and I blacked out for a minute, feeling a little woozy. I gripped the rail, and stared down the staircase, which Sharpay had just stumbled down. I couldn't move my arms or legs, let alone climb down there to help her up. A school nurse sprung to her side out of no where._

"_She _pushed_ me!" Sharpay cried dramatically._

"_It was an accident," I choked out._

"_My ass," Sharpay replied, scowling at me._

"_I didn't mean to," I whispered helplessly._

_And then bam! I blacked out. The last thing I saw was Troy rushing to Sharpay's side, cradling her face in his arms, and then I felt my whole body hit the ground._

**Sorry, this one sort of centered on Gabriella, but I'll be sure to update soon if I get some positive feedback, see what I can do with Troy.**


	4. To hell with my pride

Hey

Hey! I don't really care for the format I was writing in, I was actually kind of confusing myself. So, I think I'll just start off with Gabriella waking up from her blackout. Not a flashback or anything, I'm just going to resume the story from there. Okay, here we go...

**Gabriella Kae Montez: The biting reality of it all**

"Ella?" I faint familiar voice was calling my name. It was barely a murmur, soft enough to be a whisper, but it sounded sick with worry and shame. "Gabriella, baby, please answer me..." The voice was pleading now.

My body refused to let me move, to open my eyes, to soothe the withering person. I had never experienced anything so out-of-body; It's not as if I felt like I was watching myself, but I felt very unattached and I was having a difficult time keeping my breathing consistent.

I was straining, using all of my strength just trying to form a coherent word, but my mouth was too dry, my body was too weak. I could only feel the rush of wind as I flew noisily through a loud, panicky place with a lot of flashing lights. Someone was asking the voice of familiarity rapid questions and the two seemed to be growing more distant. I grew lethargic, but also incredibly anxious.

"Don't go!" I cried, my eyes still closed, my body still too worn to move.

There was a pause. The wind had stopped.

"I won't..." Two soft hands began to stroke my face in hopes to calm me down. "I'm not going anywhere."

The hands were no longer stroking my face, but instead they were grasping my right hand tightly. The wind returned. My anxiety melted away for a short moment, and I knew nothing but the hands which were wrapped around my own. The lights had stopped flashing, and I was stewing in my own contentment. Luckily for me, I was just pleased enough to return to my black, dreamless slumber.

I never slept better.

**Troy Anthony Bolton: Everything moves so slowly**

I waited patiently outside of room 435 as people rushed around me in a flurry of plastic gloves and uncomfortable looking scrubs. I poked my head into the room, watching as she slept, looking softer than usual. I clutched my neck nervously, staring at each blank face that passed. Answers would've been nice. I found myself feeling nothing but a dull numbness.

"Do you need something?" A middle-aged woman wearing a toothpaste-green frock stared up at me from behind the nurse's station. I mean 'station' in the loosest way possible.

"Euh..." I hesitated, not sure if I really wanted answers anymore.

"Troy..." The voice called softly from inside the room, saving me from my momentary trance.

I walked lithely into the plain white room, crouching by the bed, my hands rested on the itchy blue blanket that seemed to be eating her entire body, which somehow continued to look picturesque.

A pair of helpless brown eyes prodded me, but her words didn't match her facial expression.

"What the hell am I doing here?" She demanded, though it wasn't unlike her to be so blunt.

"You fell," I answered simply.

"I remember that part." She spat.

Right about then the Epiphany hit me like a massive freight train, running at a million miles an hour.

"Answer, idiot."

The words flowed so naturally from my mouth, they seemed almost planned;

"You want an answer, Sharpay? I can't do this, any of it. You're honestly the most self-centered, egotistic person I've ever met, and..."

Her jaw dropped, but she pressed me to go on, "And what, Troy? Go ahead."

The answer seemed so cliché, I could hardly stand it, but I said it anyways.

"And I need to go..."


End file.
